Exercise is very good for you, as you no doubt already know, but it's especially advantageous for back pain treatments, providing you comply with some user-friendly rules of thumb, and do the right exercises. Here's a list of easygoing and effective exercises that can make a big difference to help relieve back pain and offer some much needed chronic back pain relief:

Shift and lift: This is an exercise that will beef up the muscles of your lower back and glutes (your butt) (in particular) while sitting in the office. This is therefore something that you can practice while sat in the office, because of the process of the 'lifting' part of the exercise, I would not really recommend that you do this while there's other people too close to you, for example. They may wonder what on earth you're up to!

All The Same, this is a very effective exercise for reducing any stiffness or soreness that could happen from sitting still for an extended period of time, and it strengthens those muscles too!

While sitting in your chair, relax then clench one buttock and hold for 3 to 5 seconds, lifting slightly as you do so. Relax and then repeat. Do this 15-20 times for each buttock.

Hip sway: This is useful exercise to do if you have to stand up for an extended period of time, as it alleviates the tension in your legs and lower back and stimulates the blood flow within your legs, hips and back. It also helps to avoid getting the middle back pain that many individuals are affected by if they have to stand for long periods of time.

Stand up straight, let your right knee relax and soften, while at the same time pushing your left hip out sideways. Pull the hip back in again, and repeat the same action 15-20 times. After that, relax your left knee, and drive your right hip out in the same manner.

Lifting: This exercise needs a bag - a supermarket plastic bag, or something else that has suitable handles for lifting will do the job. Put something fairly heavy in the bag - again, it is fairly irrelevant exactly what it is, but make sure it weighs at least a 3 or 4 kilos (drinks bottles are ideal for this, because a liter bottle weighs almost exactly a kilo).

Start with your arm straight down the side of your body, bend at the knees until the bag touches the ground and then straighten your legs and lift the bag. Lift until your legs are once again straight, hold the standing position for a few seconds, and then bend your legs until the bag touches down again.

Repeat 15 times with the bag on one side of your body, then repeat it on the other side. When done correctly - that is, by bending at the knees and not from your back - this exercise is excellent for strengthening the lower back, buns and hips, and will also work wonders on your thighs, arms and shoulders.

Shoulder Shrugs: This is a very simple exercise that not only helps keep your lower back strong, it is also a powerful approach for expelling the tension that can build around your neck and across the back of your shoulders. It's also very good for toning your arms and shoulder muscles. You can perform the exercise in pretty much any sitting or standing position.

For the starting postiion, simply shrug your shoulders as close to your ears as you can, then lift your arms up until they are at right angles to your body and turn your palms so they face outward. Lastly, twist your head to touch your shoulder then hold that final position for a few seconds. Return to the starting position and do it all over again, but this time, tilt your head to the opposite side.